


Jun Hwan and the Seven Dwarves

by Junliet



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Evgenia is a bunny, Fluff, Johnny is mean, Jun is cute, Liza is a bunny, M/M, Shoma is a dwarf lol, Snow White AU, Threats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2020-10-21 06:18:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20688896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Junliet/pseuds/Junliet
Summary: Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little prince named Jun Hwan. His vain and wicked stepfather, King Johnny, feared that someday Jun Hwan’s beauty would surpass his own, so he dressed the little prince in rags and forced him to work as a scullery footman. Each day, the vain king consulted his magic mirror.“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”And, as ling as the mirror answered “You are the fairest one of all,” Jun Hwan was safe from the King’s cruel jealousy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I know, I know, I shouldn't start a new WIP, but I really really wanted to write this and I felt inspired to write it so yeah. Here we go. This is the Snow White au no one asked for. Thank you to everyone who helped me with the characters, and please enjoy xxx
> 
> (For reference, here is the character list):  
Snow White: Jun  
Prince: Conrad  
Evil Queen: Johnny  
Doc: Yuzuru  
Sleepy: Shoma (who else come on)  
Grumpy: Patrick  
Happy: Jason (again, who else come on)  
Bashful: Alina  
Sneezy: Nathan  
Dopey: Rika  
The mirror: Brian  
The huntsman: Vincent  
Bunnies: Evgenia and Liza

_Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little prince named Jun Hwan. His vain and wicked stepfather, King Johnny, feared that someday Jun Hwan’s beauty would surpass his own, so he dressed the little prince in rags and forced him to work as a scullery footman. Each day, the vain king consulted his magic mirror._

_“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”_

_And, as ling as the mirror answered “You are the fairest one of all,” Jun Hwan was safe from the King’s cruel jealousy._

A tall castle made of white stone stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the ocean. Forest surrounded it on the other side, and a huge stone staircase led from the gardens up to the main castle itself. Hidden in one of the rooms, up a secret staircase with the window facing into the court instead of out to the ocean or forest, the king drew the curtains and stepped up to face a large, oval shaped mirror. Wearing a large flowing black cloak with a white trim and a purple lining, and with a gold crown balanced atop his brown curls, the king glared into the mirror and spoke.

“Slave Brian in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face.”

The image of flames filled the mirror before they melted away to reveal a mask style face in the mirror, resembling an older man. Smoke plumes rose in the mirror behind the mask as it spoke.

“What wouldst thou know, my King?”

“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”

The shadows on the mask’s face changed, and it was like it was lit by a green light underneath, casting purple shadows where the light didn’t touch. The purple smoke kept rising and twisting, moving around in the background as it spoke once more.

“Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely young man I see. Rags cannot hide his gentle grace. Alas, he is more fair than thee.”

The king’s eyes darkened and narrowed as he glared at the mirror. His eyes were piercing and he spat his next words.

“Alas for him. Reveal his name!”

“Lips delicate as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin soft as silk.”

Johnny gasped and flinched back in anger. “Of course it’s Jun Hwan,” he seethed.

* * *

Out in the garden, in simple black clothes with little rips at the bottom of the shirt and trousers, sat a young man on the stone steps. His soft black hair fell into his eyes as he scrubbed at the stone steps and hummed, washing them off. Several doves came and settled next to him, keeping him company as he worked. Around him, flowers grew across the edges of the steps, and the sun shone on him as if he were blessed. He smiled as he worked, swaying a little before he sat up and looked at the now clean steps down from the palace into the garden area. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet, surrounded by the white doves and a little raccoon that happily sat with him nearby. He then picked up the bucket of water and emptied it across the bottom step before he walked along the path with a smile, ducking underneath the cherry blossom covered branches of trees and avoiding crashing into the Korean roses growing in the bushes. He swung the wooden bucket idly, approaching the well, and the doves all settled around him. The raccoon nuzzled up against his feet as he placed the bucket down and pulled on one of the ropes, drawing up a new bucket full of water. The raccoon and birds jumped up onto the other edge of the well so they could watch him, and the young man smiled at them brightly as he put the bucket down on his side.

“Want to know a secret?” He whispered, and all the animals nodded at him. “Promise not to tell?” The animals looked at each other before they all nodded again. “_We are standing by a wishing well.”_

The birds all leaned over the edge, and the poor racoon leaned a little too far. The young man luckily caught him before he tumbled down into the water below. He set the raccoon on his side and stroked its furry head before he pointed into the water.

_“Make a wish into the well. That’s all you have to do. And, if you hear it echoing, your wish will soon come true.”_

The birds twittered at him like they didn’t or couldn’t believe what he was saying, and Jun just smiled and leaned over the well. _“I’m wishing!”_

The echo came back, repeating his words. _“I’m wishing!”_ The birds scattered and the young man smiled.

_“For the one I love, to find me!”_

_“To find me!”_

_“Today.”_

_“Today.”_

_“I’m hoping,”_

_“I’m hoping,”_

_“And I’m dreaming of, the nice things,”_

_“The nice things,”_

_“He’ll say.”_

The young man settled on the edge of the well and sang quietly to himself, holding out a hand to one of the doves. His voice carried from the garden and down another set of steps to where a young man was riding on a white horse past the castle. Entranced by the sweet voice, the prince stopped to just listen as the young man serenaded the animals, strong the racoon’s head and holding out a hand to the doves. The other man, the one from the horse, climbed over the stone wall of the palace and sat on it for a moment, watching the other. In a green, looser shirt with gold belts and black details on the front, he slipped into the garden and walked over to the other slowly.

The other, surrounded by animals still, leaned over and looked back into the well before he sighed, still stroking the racoon’s head.

_“I’m wishing,”_

_“I’m wishing,”_

_“For the one I love, to find me,”_

_“To find me,”_

_“Today,”_

_“Today,”_ The man in rags gasped at the other face in the well: the face of the man who had climbed into the garden, drawn in by his lilting voice. He stumbled back and the animals scattered.

“Oh!”

“Hello,” the other gave him a kind smile, “sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just that—”

He ran, and the doves followed him up the stairs and behind a solid closed door. The other stared at him in despair before he sighed.

“Please! Come back! Wait! _Now that I’ve found you, here’s what I have to say.”_

The man inside peaked out of one of the windows, watching the other’s every move as he stood and started to sing too. He carried on up the stairs and poked his head out from behind a red curtain on a balcony, black hair sticking out a little.

_“One song, I have but one song. One song, only for you.”_

The man inside the castle smiled warmly, cheeks heating up before he stepped out onto the balcony and listened to the singing properly. He leaned on the edge, looking at the other’s soft blonde hair that looked gold when the sunrays caught it perfectly, and several doves came and sat on the balcony next to him. The racoon scrambled up the Korean rose shrub and jumped up to be next to the other.

_“One heart, tenderly beating, ever entreating, constant and true. One love, that has possessed me, one love, thrilling me through.”_

_“One song, my heart keeps singing,” _the one who wasn’t singing held out a hand to a dove. It landed there, and he placed a light kiss on its feathery head before he held out a hand. The singing man held out a hand too and the dove fluttered down onto his. It landed and turned away slightly as if shy, before it made an attempt to kiss the other’s cheek. _“Of one love, only for you.”_

The man in the castle smiled with a shy blush covering his nose and cheeks, and he gave the other a little wave before he pulled the red balcony curtains shut and hid inside.

Unknown to the pair, the king’s window gave him a perfect view of the garden and everything going on. He glared daggers at the pair and threw the heavy red curtains to his room shut in disgust.

* * *

Down in the throne room, the king sat on the ornately decorated golden chair. His black cloak spilt onto the ground bedside him, and he smoothed out the front of his blue and white shirt. He looked down from the throne and cleared his throat, speaking slowly and clearly.

“Take him far into the forest. Find some secluded glade where he can pick wild flowers or something,” he gestured idly with his hand.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” another young man with black hair pushed out of his eyes nodded and bowed his head lightly, creating little wrinkles on his sharp blue shirt. He had several hunting knives on his belt, and had a bow and quiver of arrows on his back.

“And there, my faithful huntsman Vincent, you will kill him.”

Vincent’s eyes widened and he held up his hands. “But, Your Majesty, the little prince—”

“Silence!” The king stood up with thunder in his eyes. He pointed sharply at the other, eyes burning into him. “You know the penalty if you fail me.”

Vincent inhaled sharply but nodded, bowing his head and lowering his eyes. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Johnny was unconvinced. “But, to make doubly sure you do not fail,” he held up a wooden box decorated with red and blue paint, closed with a golden clasp in the shape of a heart, “bring back his heart, in this.”

The huntsman swallowed and nodded, taking the box from the king with lightly trembling hands. He turned with one more bow to the king, he turned. Putting the box in his hunting bag, he headed up the stairs to one of the doors. He knocked on it.

“Prince Jun Hwan? The king has asked me to take you so you can pick some wild flowers. Dress in nice clothes and come out as soon as you’re ready.”

The prince, inside his room, tugged off the rags he’d been dressed in for cleaning the steps and pulled on sharp blue shirt with a line of sparkles across the back of his shirt. He tugged on black trousers too, and he adjusted his silver necklace and silver ring. Smoothing down his hair in the mirror, he smiled at his reflection and opened up the door to face the huntsman.

“Ready sir.”

“You do know you don’t have to call me that. You’re the prince.”

The prince blushed a little and nodded as he followed the huntsman into the forest. They walked together in a comfortable silence, listening to the birds twittering, and the clouds that had started to gather, blocking out the otherwise clear sky. Jun hummed as they walked, and Vincent finally stopped in a clearing in the forest.

“Here, Your Highness. There are so many flowers for you to pick. I’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.”

Jun nodded and all but bounced off. The clearing was full of wild flowers, and he soon set to work making a bouquet of the different blooms. He sang the song the other had sung to him earlier as he knelt down, adding more yellow and red flowers to the bundle in his hands.

Vincent watched him from afar, chewing his lip. He and the prince were the same age. Technically, what he’d been asked to do was treasonous as it was the prince’s birth father who had really been on the throne and not his stepfather. Jun would take over at eighteen, but his stepfather had the throne until then. To kill the heir to the throne was treason, but it was illegal to ignore or disobey an order from the king himself. Vincent shuddered, considering what would happen if he failed as well. Still, the prince looked so innocent and calm as he picked the flowers. Little birds fluttered around him, guiding him over to a sad looking baby blue bird.

Jun placed down the bouquet and scooped up the baby bird. “Hello there. What’s the matter?” The bird tweeted at him, and Jun stroked its feathery head. “Where’s your Mama and Papa?” The bird shook its head. “Oh, you’re lost? Please don’t cry. Come on. Head up. Can you smile for me?” The bird tried and Jun let out a little giggle. “That’s better! Your Mama and Papa can’t be far, can they?” Jun looked around and up before he pointed to a nest with two similar looking birds settled in it. “Look! There they are. Can you fly?” The bird nodded and took off from Jun’s fingers. The little prince waved at it with a smile, sighing and sitting back down when a shadow came up next to his own on the rocks.

Jun turned and screamed. Vincent was behind him with his hunting knife raised, ready to kill the young prince. Jun scrambled across the forest floor until his back hit the rocks. Closing his eyes, he turned his head away and waited for the knife to strike him.

It rustled through the leaves as Vincent dropped it and fell to his knees in front of the prince. “I-I can’t do this. I can’t.”

Jun dared to open his eyes, and Vincent took hold of his hands with tears burning his own. “Forgive me, please, Your Highness. I beg you.”

“I don’t understand,” Jun tilted his head at Vincent in confusion.

“He’s mad! He’s jealous of you. He’ll stop at nothing.”

“But… who?”

“The king!”

“T-The king?” Jun flinched back, hitting his head on the rock with a grimace.

“N-now quick, Jun, run! Run away and hide! Hide in the woods, anywhere! But never come back or he’ll kill you, like I couldn’t.” Vincent pulled Jun to his feet and pushed him lightly into the darkness and unknown of the forest. “Now go, please! Go! Run! Hide!”

Jun took off, black cloak trailing behind him slightly as he disappeared into the woods and out of Vincent’s sight. The huntsman knelt down as terror rose up in his stomach, twisting his insides.

“What am I going to do?”

* * *

Jun ran through the forest, stumbling over tree roots and tripping over himself. Everywhere he turned were sharp thorns that snagged on his cloak. He pushed his way through a sheet of leaves, struggling with them for a moment as they tangled him up in the vines. He stumbled out, flinching back as an owl screeched at him. He took a different path and froze when it seemed a million pairs of eyes were focused on him. Dozens of bats took off, catching in his hair and on his clothes, and Jun suppressed a whimper as he kept running. His cloak caught on thorns again, and he tugged at it in desperation and fear. The castle lights in the distance seemed to taunt him and shine ever brighter, as if he wasn’t really running away but instead closer to his doom at the hands of his stepfather. It felt like hands were pulling him back, back towards the king, back towards being a servant instead of the heir, back towards being killed for what reason? When Jun finally got free of the thorns, he stumbled straight into another set that snagged at his clothes too and snagged at his skin. Everything felt like hands to him, and Jun pulled away from them sharply before he followed the path again, further into the forest. Even a tree root resembled a creature with sharp teeth that was ready to pounce out and eat the young man, and Jun let out a small shriek of terror before he turned tail. He tripped on a tree root and fell down off a small cliff, tumbling through dirt and cobwebs before he caught hold of a vine and hung there. He glanced down into the lake of water below him and shivered slightly, when his grip on the vine went and he fell straight in. The logs floating in the river looked too much like crocodiles, and the soaking wet prince tripped over himself and his cloak to get out of the water. He shivered, not just because of the cold but due to fear too. Everywhere he turned, everything he saw, it all looked like something that was about to hurt or kill him. He turned away from another tree stump that resembled a rabid creature about to hunt him down and ran. The wind through the forest even made leaves chase after him, and bats swept down to attack his hair too. Jun spun around, trying to find a way out, but a million pairs of intense and terrifying eyes were on him no matter which way he looked. It all got too much, and he collapsed to the forest floor and curled up on himself, trying to look as small as possible and hide underneath the cloak from harm.

A small part of him really did wish that he’d gone back to the castle. The king didn’t really want to kill him, did he?

Jun sobbed, trying to calm himself down as he lay curled up on the floor of the forest. He’d been thrown out, no, forced to run away from everything he knew. And now, alone, cold, and damp, he lay on the forest floor curled up with only his damp cloak as a form of protection. He whimpered, biting his lip hard as he buried his face further into his arms.

Around him, the pairs of eyes grew softer, and several bunnies poked their heads out from the burrows. They watched the prince for a moment, noses twitching. Across from them, red squirrels did the same. A pair of baby deer poked their heads out, and dozens of birds did the same. The dozens and dozens of animals slowly approached the whimpering young man on the forest floor. They closed in on him, approaching Jun curiously. His whimpers died down a little, and he was unknowingly surrounded by animals on all sides. One bunny, with soft brown fur and a grey underside and tail, sniffed at the top of his hair and glanced at him nervously. Her nose tickled his arm, and Jun sat up slowly and wiped at his eyes.

The animals scattered in fear, and Jun blinked at them repeatedly. “N-No, please! Please don’t run away! Come back! I won’t hurt you. I’m awfully sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you all.” The animals then poked their heads out at him, all the dozens of them, “But you don’t know what I’ve been through. And all because I was afraid.” Jun sighed and held up a hand. A little bluebird landed on his finger and he smiled. “I’m sorry for all the fuss I’ve made. What do you do when things go wrong?”

The bird whistled to him and Jun’s face lit up. “You sing?”

The other birds in the area all joined in, tweeting too, and Jun giggled. He hummed along with their singing, swaying slightly.

_“With a smile and a song, life is just a bright sunny day. Your cares fade away, and your heart is young.” _Other animals approached them and Jun stroked the bunny’s ears as she curled up beside him. _“With a smile and a song, all the world seems to waken anew. Rejoicing with you, as the song is sung. There’s no use in grumbling, when the raindrops come tumbling. Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine. When you smile and you sing, everything is in tune and it’s spring. And life flows alone, with a smile and a song.”_

A bunny nuzzled up to him, batting her eyelashes as another climbed up onto his lap and cuddled him. Other animals demanded strokes too, and Jun was soon surrounded by cute woodland creatures.

“I really feel quite happy now,” Jun smiled, still stroking the two bunnies cuddled up to him. He giggled at the one batting her eyelashes. “Do you, um…. Liza?”

Liza nodded and batted them further, getting another giggle. He then stroked the other and looked at her. “And you, Evgenia?”

She nodded too, nuzzling up to him. Jun sighed, looking around and his face fell. “What am I going to do?”

A bird tweeted at him and he shrugged. “I can’t go home. My stepfather… he’ll kill me if I go home! But I don’t know where to stay. Do you know somewhere I can stay?”

The animals all nodded at once and pushed him to his feet. With a horde of animals around him, Jun followed them along another path in the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The animals pulled and nudged Jun through the forest. It didn’t seem anywhere near as terrifying now, especially because he wasn’t alone; in fact, it was almost fun. With deer running alongside him, birds fluttering around his hair and head, raccoons and chipmunks running along the ground too, and Liza and Evgenia bouncing along beside him, the young prince made his way carefully along the path that the deer and birds were showing him. It took him through the wood, past a waterfall, over the hill, twisting and turning as it went, until they reached the edge of the forest. Jun stretched out his arms, rolling his shoulders a little before they carried on. A little way away, across a small bridge that crossed a little babbling brook, was a storybook cottage. Built from bricks with a little gable roof of yellow, weathered stone, the cottage was nestled in the trees of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet everyone thought I'd forgotten about this story, didn't they? I haven't! Promise! Anyway, welcome back to this story that I'm having wayyyyyy too much fun writing (listen, Jun Hwan Cha IS a Disney Princess. He just is. Look at him and tell me he isn't)
> 
> This chapter is a little bit fluffy (literally) and doesn't go too far plot wise, but I had a lot of fun writing it so I hope you have a lot of fun reading it. Come listen to me ramble on Twitter. Thank you so much to everyone for your support and love for this story, and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Just for reference again, here is the character list:  
Snow White: Jun Hwan Cha  
Evil Queen: Johnny Weir  
Prince: Conrad  
Doc: Yuzuru  
Sleepy: Shoma  
Grumpy: Patrick  
Happy: Jason  
Bashful: Alina  
Sneezy: Nathan  
Dopey: Rika  
The Mirror: Brian  
The Huntsman: Vincent  
Bunnies: Evgenia and Liza
> 
> Thank you so much and enjoy xxx

The animals pulled and nudged Jun through the forest. It didn’t seem anywhere near as terrifying now, especially because he wasn’t alone; in fact, it was almost fun. With deer running alongside him, birds fluttering around his hair and head, raccoons and chipmunks running along the ground too, and Liza and Evgenia bouncing along beside him, the young prince made his way carefully along the path that the deer and birds were showing him. It took him through the wood, past a waterfall, over the hill, twisting and turning as it went, until they reached the edge of the forest. Jun stretched out his arms, rolling his shoulders a little before they carried on. A little way away, across a small bridge that crossed a little babbling brook, was a storybook cottage. Built from bricks with a little gable roof of yellow, weathered stone, the cottage was nestled in the trees of the forest.

"Oh, it's adorable," Jun giggled, "just like a doll's house."

Climbing over a fallen log, Jun then rushed down along the path towards the little bridge with the deer as well as the two bunnies hot on his heels. The other animals raced after him as he leaned down to glance through the window. He wrinkled his nose a little at the thick layer of grime and dirt that covered the window and, with the corner of his cloak that he'd been given by Vincent, he cleaned off a little circle for him to look through. Following his actions, two of the chipmunks did the same as well as a raccoon, Liza, and Evgenia. He frowned a little, trying to see.

"It's really really dark inside," he whispered to the animals, who all tilted their heads at him in curiosity.

Stepping away from the window, he wiped his hands on his cloak and adjusted his slightly messy hair. He then leaned down and knocked on the door three times. When met with nothing but silence, his smile drooped a little and he knocked again. Met with nothing but silence again, he turned to the animals and shrugged.

"Guess there's no one home."

Trying the little wooden door, the handle turned easily and Jun pushed it open, allowing the natural light to spill into the place. Leaning down a little to go through the door (he'd grown so much in his last growth spurt that the king had complained about having to find the young prince a new set of rags to wear) he looked around the place, nose wrinkling.

"Hello?" He asked, somewhat tentatively as Evgenia and Liza bounced in too. "May I come in please?"

Not waiting for a reply, the young prince tiptoed into the cottage. The animals followed him, earning a small "shh!" from the prince when they made a little noise going through the door. They all spread out, looking around the place in wonder as the prince let out a little gasp, half startling the animals.

"What a cute little chair," he smiled, dusting off the seat before frowning at his fingertips, "there are seven little chairs! There must be seven little children living here then. And, from the look of the table," the chipmunks hiding in the unwashed bowls, pots, pans, plates, and cups poked their heads out to look at Jun, "seven untidy little children!"

He glanced at the table and started giggling when he saw some of the random items scattered across it. "A pick axe? A stocking? And a... a shoe?"

A couple of birds twittered their confusion and disdain to the prince who laughed and nodded. He followed the chipmunks over to the fireplace and traced his fingers across the mantelpiece.

"And just look at this fireplace! It's coated in dust and cobwebs. There are cobwebs everywhere! My, my, my. What a pile of dirty dishes!" The prince let out another gasp, turning away from the teetering tower of dishes that nearly brushed the ceiling to look across the room at the broom, cast aside and with cobwebs again covering it. He shook his head firmly, sighing.

"They've clearly never swept this room! Gosh, you'd think their mother or father would--" He cut himself off, eyes widening and face softening in sadness and slight regret, "Oh gosh. Maybe they have no mother or father..." His mind wandered for a moment back to the old castle that used to be his home, where he could run free around the garden and into his mother's arms. When he could enjoy being the prince and relaxing. Before she died, and he was left in the care of his step father, who had shoved him into rags and forced him into servitude.

The animals, as if to sense his sadness and hesitation, nuzzled up to his side, especially Evgenia and Liza the bunnies. Stroking their long, floppy ears, the prince blinked back his tears before he nodded firmly to himself.

"Well, then they're orphans, and that's really sad. So why don't we clean the house and surprise them? And then maybe they'll let me stay!"

Unclasping his cloak, as he went to hang it up two birds took it for him and he couldn't help but giggle. He glanced around at the animals, tapping his chin for a moment, before he nodded mostly to himself.

"Alright! Now, you wash the dishes," he spoke to the chipmunks and birds that were sitting on and in the huge pile of dirty crockery and cutlery that was spilling over the edges of the sink, "and you tidy up the room," he nodded to the bunnies who were sitting beside casually tossed pick axes, boxes, and other random things, "you'll clean the fireplace," he spoke to the chipmunks, birds, and bunnies sitting in and around the fireplace area before he reached over and dusted the cobwebs off the broom, "and I'll use the broom!"

One of the little birds perched on the window sill started singing and the other joined in as they took flight, helping to tidy up with the others.

_"Just whistle while you work," _Jun sung quietly to himself as the animals and him all got to work together on cleaning up the place. The birds sung along with him, adding in the little whistles, "_And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place. __So hum a merry tune. It won't take long when there's a song to help you set the pace. And as you sweep the room, imagine that the broom, is someone that you love and soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune. When hearts are high the time will fly so whistle while you work."_

Jun swept the dust from around the room into the pan that a couple of chipmunks held for him and rushed to the door to empty when it was full. By the table, the chipmunks and deer had filled up a bowl of water and were washing out the plates before the chipmunks dried them with a set of towels they'd found. The chipmunks tried to help Jun and his sweeping by using their tails, only they pushed the dust into a mouse hole belonging to a very irritated brown mouse who blew it straight back at them, causing the pair to dive under the rug and hide. Jun couldn't help but giggle at them both before he went back to dusting the old piano crafted from what appeared to be a tree stump. The bunnies and chipmunks around him dusted things too with their own tails, making everything sparkle and shine. Occasionally, they shook out their tails out of the window to get rid of the dist and cobwebs stuck to them. The birds fluttered in, creating a little bouquet of yellow flowers in the blue vase on the now clear and clean table. The chipmunks banded together to bring in clothes and shoes, folding them with the birds and Jun's help and putting them away carefully into the drawers and washing any that weren't clean in the babbling brook outside; the raccoons were taking care of that part. Jun stepped outside to watch them with a bright smile, and one of the little bluebirds landed on his fingertip. The prince giggled again before he went back into the house and set the broom down; he decided to start sorting out the now clean dishes, putting them away into the cupboards and drawers neatly so that they wouldn't get broken. With the animals outside working on the washing, Jun arranged the seven little chairs and adjusted the vase of flowers before a deer brought in a load of clean and dry washing on her back for him to fold and put away. He sighed, still humming to himself as he tried to keep busy. Focusing on the task at hand stopped his mind from wandering to the future and what would happen when the house owners came back, and it stopped his mind wandering to the past and what Johnny was doing back at the palace.

* * *

Deep in a mine not a long walk from the little cottage the prince was in, seven dwarfs were working hard to mine the diamonds that were in the place. One of them move the mine cart, pulled by a pair of deer, around as four of the others worked in pairs, chipping away at the rocks containing the valuable gems. The dim light from their lanterns caught the diamonds within the stones and made the whole place sparkle. Piles of the valuable gemstones were in little wheelbarrows scattered around the place, and one of the dwarfs stopped the mine cart to pick them up and empty them into it. The group of four hummed a little together to keep themselves occupied. The one driving the mine cart stopped just outside the mine ad emptied the gemstones into a box on the table where another one of them was waiting. He tapped them with a little hammer, listening for the noise. Satisfied with the latest diamond, he placed it into one specific sack with some of the others. Hitting the next, he grimaced at the almost tinny sound it made when the hammer hit it, and he tossed it over his shoulder to where one of the others was cleaning up with a dustpan and brush; she smiled brightly at the sparkly objects even though they were worth nothing. She then tossed them over the edge and chuckled before she went over to help the one checking the stones and poked him, pointing to the clock. He looked up and smiled as the hands moved to just five. "Thanks Rika," he said with a smile before he cleared his throat. "Five o'clock everyone! You know what that means! Let's go everyone!"

The four working in the mine smiled to each other and picked up their pick axes as the one driving the mine cart with the deer stepped off and came over to join the other six as they gathered outside the mine. The two sorting the gems stored them in a locked room by the mine before they joined the others in the walk back, following the leader in single file as they walked through the trees, down the winding path, across a fallen tree acting as a bridge, past the waterfall, and down the winding path towards their home as the sun started to set on the horizon, casting pinks and golds across the sky and over the trees.

* * *

Back in the cottage, Jun yawned lightly as he surveyed the room. Given how it was at the start, he couldn't help but feel a little swell of pride at how much they'd managed to do and how well they'd managed to clean the place up. Carrying a candle and treading carefully so as to avoid stepping on any of the poor animals, Jun took careful, tentative steps up the staircase; he was followed by many of the animals as they too let curiosity get the better of them. Jun opened the little door at the top of the stairs and smiled brightly.

"Oh, what a lovely room with such adorable little beds. And look! They have names carved on them too! Yuzuru, Jason, Nathan, Rika, what sweet and funny names for children! Patrick, Alina, and Shoma!"

On the last one, Jun let out another yawn and his eye fluttered lightly. "I guess all that cleaning tired me out, huh?" He set his candle down on the side on a little brass plate before he lay down across three of the beds: Rika's, Nathan's, and Jason's. The little chipmunks pulled a blanket over him as Evgenia and Liza snuggled up under his arms, cuddling up to his sides as the young prince almost immediately fell asleep. The birds quickly put the candle out for him, and the other animals curled up on top of the other beds, catching some well earned rest themselves.

Or, so they thought.

With their sensitive animal ears, they caught the dwarfs' humming through the open window and were instantly sitting bolt upright and awake. In a panic, the animals straightened the bedspreads and escaped out of the door as quickly as they could so that they wouldn't be spotted by the dwarfs. They escaped into the forest, watching the cottage as the group of dwarfs came towards their home.

"Wait!" the first one stopped abruptly and all the others crashed into each other, "Look! Our house! The lit's light.... Uh, the light's lit!"

The other dwarfs all exchanged varying looks of horror as what the first said was true. Rushing to hide, they crouched down behind a group of trees so that they could watch the house for a little bit to see what would happen.

"The door's open!"

"Chimney's smoking!"

"Somebody's in there!"

"Maybe a ghost?" One of the male ones suggested; his curls around his eyes bounced as he turned to look at the others.

"Or a goblin!"

"A demon!"

"A dragon!"

"Mark my words," one of them said with a huge scowl on his face, "there's trouble brewing. Felt it coming all day. My corns have been hurting."

"Gosh," the curly haired one who had suggested a ghost turned to three others, "that is a bad sign."

"What do we do?"

"Let's sneak up on them!"

"Yes," the leader said firmly, nodding his head as his black hair fell a little into his eyes, "we'll squeak up, uh, sneak up on them. Come on guys. Follow me!"

They all tiptoed after the leader with their pick axes raised and ready, and they peered into the house through the window. The leader pushed the door open a little gasped at the sight before him as he stepped in. All seven spilt into the room, and the leader whispered to all of them.

"Careful guys. Search every crook and nanny. U-uh, every nook and cranny!"

Sneaking around, the few animals still in the room did they best to hide in the corners or in the cupboards. The leader gasped, staring at the floor in utter shock.

"The floor! Look! It's been swept!"

One of the dwarfs ran their finger along the back of one of the chairs that Jun and the animals had spent so long cleaning up and dusting, and the scowl on his face only darkened when he saw no dust came away on his fingertips.

"Chair's been dusted."

"And our windows have been washed!"

"Gosh, our cobwebs are missing," the other young girl spoke up, looking at the rafters in almost sadness, "I wonder where the poor spiders are going to live for a little while... Until they can make more. Oh, someone destroyed their poor homes, and--"

"It's alright Alina," one of them shushed her quietly as the leader started talking again.

"W-why, the whole place is so clean! Ouch, Patrick!" he hissed when the other, the one with a frown and a scowl, poked him in the back.

"There's dirty work afoot, Yuzuru," Patrick warned the other as his eyes narrowed and his glare got somehow darker still.

"Sink's empty," one of them said, looking at the poor male dwarf who looked ready to pass out at any second from exhaustion, "Hey! Someone stole our dishes!"

"They're not stolen, Nathan, they're hidden in the cupboard silly!"

Alina reached up and took one of the mugs out of the cupboard, running her fingertip along the inside of it. "My cup's been washed... the dust and dirt really is gone..."

Rika half stumbled her way over to the fireplace, and one of the other followed her: the happy one.

"Something's cooking!" he said brightly, looking at the pot hanging over the fire that had smoke and the most delicious smells of a casserole or stew coming from it. "Smells good!" He grabbed the spoon, ready to sample it when Patrick smacked him on the back of the head.

"Jason! Don't touch it you fools! Might be poisoned for all we know." The lid rattled a little and the three jumped back, only darkening Patrick's glare further still. "See?" he hissed, pointing at the pot with an accusatory finger, "It's a witch's or wizard's brew."

The leader, Yuzuru, was half dancing around the table in confusion. Seven little places had been laid out neatly, with bowls, cutlery, mugs, and the vase of flowers in the middle of the table.

"Look what's happened to our stable! U-uh, table!"

Alina joined him and a bright smile broke out across her face. "Flowers! Oh they're gorgeous!"

"Flowers?" One of the others looked up in horror. "No! Get them away! My nose, my hay fever! Oh you know how I can't stand it! I can't-- I can't-- Ah... Ah... Ah--"

The others surrounded him and stopped him from sneezing, and, much to all their relief, he sighed and smiled.

"Thanks everyone," he grinned as they walked away, only for his smile to vanish at the familiar tickle in his nose. "A--Ahchoo!"

As he sneezed, he did a little jump. The sneeze sent the others all but flying across the room, and they all turned around to shush him quickly. Patrick, ever grumpy, wasn't satisfied.

"Nathan, what are you doing you crazy fool? What a time you had to pick to sneeze!"

"I couldn't help it!" Nathan protested. "When you've got to sneeze, you've got to sneeze!"

"Oh quiet you fool! You're going to get us all killed."

The three birds watching exchanged a look before smirks spread on their feathery faces. They started hammering their beaks on the wooden supports for the walls, shocking the seven.

"W-what's that?" Jason asked softly.

"That's it," Yuzuru whispered.

"Sounded close..." Alina added.

"It's in this room," Patrick said firmly, "right now."

The three birds then decided to play a joke on the seven by letting out a little screech. The seven went into panic mode and scattered, dashing around the room to hide. Finally gathering enough courage, they poked their heads out and slowly joined Yuzuru, who was holding a candle.

"It's up there."

"Yeah, in the bedroom," Alina whispered, looking at the other for his advice and decision.

"Then one of us has got to go down and chase it up. U-Uh, up, and chase it down."

The group all turned to poor Rika, who did her best to back away from them. It was, however, no use, and they pulled her back. Yuzuru handed her the candle and she tiptoed up the creaky stairs.

"Don't be afraid," Yuzuru whispered, "we're right behind you!"

Rika nodded and swallowed thickly before she kept on up the stairs and opened the door. Poking her head in, she glanced around for something in the doorway. Upon seeing nothing she slipped in and let out a shriek when she saw _something _moving under a blanket. Rika tripped over herself, running down the stairs and she fell straight into Yuzuru and Patrick who were at the front of the group.

"Stop, stop!" Yuzuru hissed, "it's only Rika!"

"Did you see it?" She nodded vigourously.

"How big was it?" She gestured way, way above her head.

"Was it a dragon?" she nodded again, earning a gasp from the others.

"Has it got horns?" Nod.

"Was it breathing fire?" Nod.

"What was it doing?" Rika pretended to be asleep, earning a look of confusion from the others.

"She says it's a monster asleep in our beds!" Yuzuru said firmly, and Patrick kicked him in the shin.

"We need to get it now while it's sleeping."

"Yeah, now while it's sleeping!"

"Hurry guys! Now or never!"

And with that and a renewed sense of courage, the group marched back into the house and straight up the stairs. They had no fear this time, as they held their pick axes high. Making it to the bedroom door, they looked in and gasped.

_Something_ was moving under the blankets still, making quiet little noises. it curled back up again and Yuzuru looked at it in confusion. They slipped closer to it as a group, surrounding it, and they raised their weapons.

"On the count of three," Yuzuru whispered, holding the edge of the blanket ready to pull it off, "one, two, three!"

He pulled the blanket off and the others froze where they were.

It wasn't a monster. It was a young man with hair as black as ebony, pale skin as soft as silk, and his pale pink lips as delicate as the rose parted slightly in his sleep. The dwarfs exchanged a look as they lowered their weapons.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuzuru was the first to get back to his senses as the dwarfs all stared down at the sleeping young man on their beds. The leader leaned back and looked at the others with bright eyes and a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This story is back (yay!) I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's the dwarfs accepting Jun into their little family, and then some angst at the end. #SorryVincent. Just be aware that there's some non graphic death and threat in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy it xx

Yuzuru was the first to get back to his senses as the dwarfs all stared down at the sleeping young man on their beds. The leader leaned back and looked at the others with bright eyes and a smile.

"Well," he pointed down at Jun, struggling to find the words.

"What is it?" Jason asked, tilting his head this way and that as he took Jun in.

"Why, it... um... it's.... a... it... it's... well... uh... It's a young man!" He scrunched up his face in a smile at having finally found the right words to use.

Alina and Nathan exchanged a smile before they looked back down at him.

"He's very pretty," Nathan commented, leaning on the headboard of one of the beds. Alina nodded, face turning red as she spoke.

"He's beautiful. He looks like an angel."

Patrick, of course, didn't share their sentiment. "Angel? Pah! He's not like us! He's bad news I tell you! Look at him! He's full of wicked wiles I'll bet." The other dwarfs stared at him, hooked on his every word as he kept speaking.

"What are wicked wiles?" Alina asked softly, deep brown eyes open wide as she flicked her gaze between Jun and Patrick.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "but I'm agin 'em!"

Yuzuru shushed Patrick and smacked him lightly on the back of the head with a glare. "Shh! Not so loud!" He gestured down to the prince where he was lying and smiled a much more tender and gentle smile. "You'll wake him up."

Patrick's gaze darkened and he only shouted loud. "Oh, let him wake! He doesn't belong here, what with those fancy well made clothes and that look about him."

True to Yuzuru's word, Jun on the bed began to stir. Jason, Alina, and Nathan all let out little gasps.

"Shh!"

"Look out!"

"He's moving!"

"He's waking up!"

"What do we do?!"

As Jun rolled over, shifting around, the dwarfs all turned to Yuzuru for guidance. In his panic, he swallowed quickly.

"Hide!"

The seven dwarfs scattered around the room in a panicked frenzy. The little room was small and barely had anything in it, and so the dwarfs ducked down and hid behind the three beds that Jun was stretched across, huddling together for safety in numbers. The prince sat up and yawned, stretching out his arms before he then rubbed at his eyes and moved his dark hair out of his eyes.

"Oh dear," he mumbled to himself, "I wonder if the children are--"

He gasped, mouth falling open in absolute shock, as he spotted seven pairs of eyes peering at him over the top of the ends of the beds. He froze and blinked at them as they blinked back at him, some with looks of curiosity, fear, and one of absolute hatred.

"--Oh! My goodness! You're little men and women, aren't you?" He looked at each of them in turn as they sat up a little higher so that he could get a better look at each of their faces. He held the blanket in his hands, fiddling with it a little, and he chewed on his lip lightly. He cleared his throat and bowed his head to them with his sunshine smile. "How do you do?"

The dwarfs, following Yuzuru, all stood to their full heights at the end of the bed as they looked at Jun still. They then looked around between each other as if asking what on earth was going on silently. Jun's smile dipped, but he tried again.

"How do you do?"

"How do you do what?" Patrick snapped, folding his arms in a huff. He wasn't ready for Jun's reaction; the little prince smiled, giggled, and clapped his hands lightly.

"Oh! So you can talk after all! I'm so glad!" Yuzuru snickered at that, earning a sharper glare from Patrick. "Now wait, wait, don't tell me who you are. Let me guess?"

The dwarfs nodded, not seeing the harm, and Jun looked the row up and down. His eyes fixed on Yuzuru and he smiled, nodding.

"You're Yuzuru?"

The dwarf nodded with a bright smile that held as much sunshine as the prince's own. "Yes! I am, yes! That's true."

Jun turned his attention to one of the others and he sighed, relaxing into his normal gentle smile. "And you? Are you Alina?"

She nodded, turning bright pink as she fiddled with a lock of her hair and tried to half hide behind Shoma. "Y-yep..."

Jun couldn't help but giggle at the dwarf next to her. He looked like he was going to pass out at any moment! "Are you Shoma by any chance?"

"How'd you guess?" he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with half a smile as his yawn ended. The other dwarfs chuckled too as Jun turned his attention down the line. He settled on Nathan and blinked at him once, twice, three times.

"Are you Nathan?" he asked in a soft, quiet voice.

Nathan nodded and, just as he was about to sneeze, Jun handed him his handkerchief. The dwarf accepted and did his traditional little jump that always happened when he sneezed, landing on the floor much to the amusement of the others. Jun nodded and turned to Jason, thinking.

"And you must be..."

"Jason, sir. That's me! And this is Rika." Next to him, Rika nodded her head feverishly, black curls bouncing everywhere as she did. "She doesn't talk, you see?"

"You mean she can't?" Jun asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"She's never tried," Yuzuru supplied, "but we love our Rika. She's perfect."

Jun giggled, fiddling with the blanket as his eyes fell onto Patrick and he couldn't help but laugh. The dwarf had a menacing glare fixed on his face, and Jun mirrored his folded arms to tease him.

"Ohhh. You must be Patrick."

"Oh yes! Yes!" Yuzuru poked Patrick in the back as the others all fell about laughing at the young prince's impression of him. Patrick's glare darkened as he turned to the others.

"Hah! We all know who we are! Ask him who he is and what he's doing here!"

Yuzuru nodded and he tried to look as harsh as Patrick. He was much too kind to pull it off; he looked like an angry kitten more than anything and poor Jun was trying so hard not to laugh.

"What are you and who are you doing here?" He then frowned and shook his head, getting all flustered. "W-what are..." Groaning, he started again in a much softer, gentler voice. "Who are you, dear?"

Jun rubbed the back of his neck lightly out of embarrassment. "Oh, how silly and rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself. My apologies. I'm Jun Hwan."

"Jun Hwan?!" Nathan shouted out in utter shock and disbelief.

"The prince?!" the others all joined in, staring at the young man. Jun nodded his head and brushed some of the hair out of his eyes with a little smile.

"Yes, that's right," he nodded.

"Well," Yuzuru stepped forwards and bowed his head lightly, "it's an honour to have you here Krince. U-uh... Prince. It's the highest honour and--"

"No no no no no! Mad as hornets! Mad as hornets I say!" Patrick snapped, stomping up to Yuzuru with his ever present glare. It seemed to snap Yuzuru out of it, and he went back to his firm, angry kitten mode.

"We're as bad as cornets! No no, no we're not. We're bad as... What was I saying?"

"Nothing of use! You were just standing there spluttering like a doodlebug!"

"Who's the doodlebug?" Yuzuru hissed.

"Oh, shut up and tell him to GET OUT!"

Jun scrambled to sit up better in the bed, and he held his hands out, clasped together in front of him. "Oh please don't turn me away! Please! If you do, I... He..." He swallowed, eyes filling with tears of fear, "He'll kill me..."

"Kill you?!"

"Who will?"

"Yes, who?"

"M-my step father... T-the King..."

"The King?"

"He's bad!"

"He's wicked."

"He's mighty mean!"

"He's an old witch!" Patrick leaned forwards so that he was glaring directly at Jun. His upper lip curled and he turned away from the prince to speak directly to the other dwarfs. "I'm warning you all. If the King finds him here, he'll swoop down and wreck his vengeance on all of us!"

"But he doesn't know where I am!" Jun interjected lightly out of absolute desperation. Patrick was having none of it.

"He doesn't, huh? He knows everything. He's full of black, dark, twisted, evil magic that one. He can even make himself invisible." He looked around, eyes narrowing. "He might even be in this room right now."

"Oh, he'll never ever find me here. He probably thinks I'm dead already as long as I don't return. He won't care as long as I try not to claim the throne... right?" Jun then sat up straighter and gave them his most genuine smile that he could. "And, if you let me stay, then I promise I will keep the house nice and tidy and clean and everything for you! I... I'll wash! And I'll sew, and clean and cook and--"

"Cook?" Shoma perked up and his stomach growled on cue. "You can cook?"

"Yep," Jun nodded quickly. "I can make all kinds of things!"

"Can you make dapple lumpkins?" Yuzuru asked. "Wait... Um... Lumple dapplins? No, that's not right. Uh..."

"Apple dumplings?" Jun suggested gently. "Cause yes, I can make them. And plum pudding. And gooseberry pie, and--"

"Gooseberry pie?" Jason's mouth watered, as did Rika's from where she was next to him. "I don't care about what the rest of you have to say. He stays!"

Jun's mouth fell into a little 'o'. "The soup! Downstairs! Oh it must be done by now! Come on, you can try it and see what you all think."

The dwarfs followed the prince down the stairs of their little cottage, and Jun stirred the pot that was hanging over the fireplace. He blew on it and tasted a spoonful before he nodded to himself. The dwarfs all then sat down at the seven little chairs around the table, eager to grab the warm rolls of bread that Jun had baked for them, when the prince piped up.

"Uh uh uh! Just a minute! Supper's not quite ready yet. Needs a few more minutes, so you all have time to wash."

"Wash?"

"Wash?"

"Wash?"

"Hah!" Patrick folded his arms in his traditional grumpy way, "I knew there was a catch to it. I just knew it."

"Why are we washing?" Nathan asked with a small frown. "It's not a special occasion? We're not going anywhere? It's not New Year?"

Jun fixed them with a look and placed his hands on his hips. "Oh? Perhaps you have washed already then?"

"Yes!" Yuzuru nodded, taking charge once again, "perhaps we have already."

"But when?"

"When? When... Why, um, you said when... Oh! Last week! Recently! Yes, very recently."

Not buying it, Jun sighed. "Show me your hands."

Yuzuru hid his hands behind his back as did all the other dwarfs, and they started to back away from the prince. Jun walked over to Yuzuru and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Let me see your hands please."

Tentatively, the dwarf held them out. They were still covered from the dirt and soot that came from working in the diamond mine, and Jun tutted lightly under his breath.

"Why, Yuzuru. I'm surprised! Alina, are yours the same?"

She held hers out and Jun rubbed his forehead.

"My, my, my. Nathan?"

All along the line of dwarfs, not one of them had hands that were free of soot and dirt. The prince didn't even bother checking Patrick's; it's not like he would have let him anyway. Jun tapped his chin lightly as he thought aloud.

"Goodness me, this will never do. We don't want you getting sick, do we? Go outside right now. There is some clean water in the trough. Go and wash up out there, alright? And then you can all come in and eat."

"Yes sir!" Jason said with his bright cheery laugh as he and Rika were the first out. All of them except Patrick made to leave, and Yuzuru dragged Patrick out too by the ear, much to his disdain.

After they had all cleaned off outside, Jun tapped the side of the soup pan and called out to them that it was ready. The eight settled down together to eat, and each of the dwarfs gushed over how tasty everything was. The bread was light and fluffy inside, and deliciously crispy on the outside. The soup, a vegetable soup, was warm, filling, and very satisfying. It tasted so good with the bread and, that night, the dwarfs all went to sleep feeling very full and satisfied. Jun too slept, but not on one of the beds. Instead, he took a spare blanket and pillow and, after cleaning it up, he settled down to sleep on the table.

* * *

On the other side of the woods, on the edge of the cliff, was the castle. Within it, the King was settled on his throne and a smug smile spread across his face as Vincent knelt before him. The huntsman held up the red case.

"His heart, Your Majesty," he said, trying not to let his voice waver too much. The King didn't notice. He just took the case and stormed out of the room with a sick, smug grin across his face as he ascended the spiral stone staircase up to the room with the magic mirror.

“Slave Brian in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face.”

The masked face appeared once again before him. “What wouldst thou know, my King?”

Johnny glanced down with a smug smirk at the box before he spoke up with his voice full of confidence. "Magic mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all?"

"Over the seven jewelled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, dwells Jun Hwan, the fairest of them all."

Johnny scoffed and gestured to the box in his hands. "Jun Hwan lies dead in the forest. My huntsman, Vincent, has brought me proof." He opened up the case and gestured to the mess of the heart that lay there. "Behold, slave, his heart."

But the mirror did not really react. Instead, Brian spoke up again.

"Jun Hwan still lives, the fairest in the land. It is the heart of a pig that you hold there in your hand."

Johnny's face contorted to anger and he slammed the lid of the case shut. He shook with rage and fury as he looked down at the infernal box with a sharp glare. "The heart of a pig? I've been tricked. Vincent Zhou, you will regret this."

Throwing back his cape out of his way, he descended the staircase to the throne room. The look on his face told Vincent everything he needed to know, and the young man didn't have time to react before he ended up on the carpet of the throne room, eyes open and glassy and a wound from a sword in his abdomen. Not caring to look further, Johnny flounced away and through a secret door. Descending down another spiral staircase with "Jun Hwan's heart" in the box in his hands, he seethed and raged as he stepped down into a room of stone. Stepping through the room of cobwebs and chains, he slammed the door shut behind him and woke up the crow that was asleep on a skull in the room. He lit a candle before he finally flew into the rage he'd been keeping on such a tight leash.

"The heart of a pig," he sneered, throwing the box aside in disgust, "the blundering fool. I'll go myself to the cottage where Jun Hwan is, in a disguise so perfect and complete that no one would ever suspect it was me, particularly not someone as naive as Jun Hwan."

He reached for one of the books on the shelf labelled 'Disguises'; it was nestled between books on the dark arts and black magic. He set it down on one of the tables and flicked through the pages, eyes narrowing until he stopped on the perfect one.

"The formula I need to transform my beauty into ugliness. Change my kingly raiment to a peddler's cloak." He moved around the room, nodding to himself as he collected the ingredients up into a golden goblet. "Mummy dust to make me old. To shroud my clothes," he added a drop of the darkest black liquid to the dust, "the black of night. To age my voice, an old hag's cackle." He heated a mixture and it cackled just like an old woman. It formed a few red drops that Johnny then collected in the goblet and smiled at the mixture. "To whiten my hair, a scream of fright." From another shelf, he picked up a vial and put a drop in, creating a cloud from the goblet that screamed like a banshee. "A blast of wind to fan my hate!" He held it up to the window in the tiny room where the intense wind from outside put out all the candles in the room and added to the potion. The king then smirked down it in before he held it up again. "And a thunderbolt to mix it well." The lightening struck it, hitting the goblet as it started to bubble with a thick green liquid. The king looked down into it and saw his own reflection looking back at him. "And now, begin thy magic spell."

He drank down the whole formula and gasped, holding onto his neck as the disgusting liquid went down his throat. It felt like he was burning from the inside as everything twisted around. His hair turned from black to grey and then the white of an old man. His hands and skin that once were smooth became wrinkled and bony, like an elderly woman's. Johnny choked and tried to speak.

"My voice?" it came out not like it was before, young and very much like an arrogant king, but instead it came out as harsh as an old hag's. "My voice. Perfect. It's the perfect disguise."

Johnny was unrecognisable as an old man in a cloak. He looked absolutely nothing like the king as he cackled to himself and flicked to a different page in a new spell book.

"And now, a special sort of death for one so fair. It wouldn't be right to just get rid of him like Vincent. Oh no no no, that would be boring and so uncivilised. No, for Jun Hwan, it must be a special kind of death. A poisoned apple. Sleeping Death. One taste of the Poisoned Apple and the victim's eyes will close forever in the Sleeping Death." Johnny cackled to himself. "Perfect."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That evening, the windows of the cottage had been opened up so that some of the animals could poke their furry heads in to listen to the music that was being played inside the cottage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, this story is back! Sorry it's been so long since it was updated; I just couldn't write it. So this is quite a long chapter, sorry! I couldn't really find a good place to stop so here will have to do. As you all probably expect, this is The Chapter where the main plot point happens, so I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you so much for reading xxx

That evening, the windows of the cottage had been opened up so that some of the animals could poke their furry heads in to listen to the music that was being played inside the cottage. Jun sat on one of the stools and clapped along as Yuzuru, Patrick, Nathan, and Alina played a merry tune that the others danced to. Jason spun Rika around in his arms. The bright smiles on their faces were infectious Jun couldn't help but join in with their giggles. When Jun watched Alina too much she blushed bright red and hid her face in Yuzuru's shoulder. Jason reached out his hands and pulled Jun to his feet, pulling him into his arms so that they could dance together. Although he hadn't been classically trained since his real parents died, Jun could still remember a lot of the moves. He moved with the grace and fluidity of a prince and couldn't help but laugh at the others' dancing. The deer, raccoons and chipmunks outside let out little snorts of laughter when they saw some of the dancing of the dwarfs. It all ended when Nathan let out an incredible sneeze that managed to send Rika flying across the room, earning giggles from most of the other dwarfs and from Jun. The prince smiled to himself as he settled back on one of the stools, crossing over his ankles.

"That was fun!" He giggled, rubbing the back of his neck as the other dwarfs settled down and helped Rika to sit with them too.

"Now you do something," Jason said with a grin and Jun tilted his head, thinking for a moment.

"Well, what should I do?"

"Tell us a story," Shoma yawned around the words as his eyes drooped. Yuzuru poked him awake so that he didn't fall asleep leaning on the table as the others all agreed.

"Yes, please tell us a story!"

"Yes yes a story!"

"Please!"

"A true story!" Jason chimed in.

"A love story!" Alina said.

Jun tapped his chin as he thought. He didn't really have any true love stories, except for the story his parents used to tell him about how they met. The memories from when he'd been cleaning the steps bubbled to the surface of his mind, and the image of the blonde prince with deep eyes coloured like honey and sharp cheekbones brought a blush to Jun's cheeks. He nodded to himself and smiled, clasping his hands in front of him on his lap before he began.

"Well, once there was a prince..."

"Was the prince you?" Yuzuru asked.

Jun nodded, continuing his story, "and he fell in love."

"Was it hard to do?" Nathan asked and Jun giggled, shaking his head.

"It was very easy! Anyone could see that the prince was charming. The only one for me."

"Was he strong and handsome?" Yuzuru asked.

"Was he big and tall?" Nathan chimed in.

"There's nobody like him," Jun leaned back against the wall with a soft sigh, "anywhere at all."

"Did he say he loved you?" Alina fiddled with some of her hair as she spoke up, trying to hide her face.

"Did he steal a kiss?" Jason added, wiggling his eyebrows.

A blush rose up on Jun's cheeks and he shook his head, soft hair bouncing. "_He was so romantic, I could not resist."_

The dwarfs all exchanged smiles and settled down around Jun to enjoy the singing. The only one who didn't settle down beside the fireplace and around Jun was Patrick, who instead leaned on the piano across the room and gave the little prince a sour look.

"_Someday my prince will come, someday we'll meet again, and away to his castle we'll go, to be happy forever I know. Someday when spring is here, we'll find our love anew, and the birds will sing! And wedding bells will ring, someday when my dreams come true."_

At the end of the song, the dwarfs all let out a collective sigh and just smiled at the little prince. Jun tried his best to ignore the blush that had spread across his soft cheeks and nose, making them glow a light rose colour. The moment of soft silence was broken by the eleven chimes of their cuckoo clock. Jun gasped and all but jumped to his feet.

"Oh my goodness! It's past bed time!" he ushered the dwarfs towards the stairs and their room. "Go on right upstairs to bed!"

Patrick turned around and stomped his foot right in front of Jun. The other dwarfs all but pushed him forwards so that Jun didn't trip over him. Yuzuru pulled the dwarfs aside, grabbing the back of Rika's shirt as she made a break for upstairs.

"Wait! Hold on now. The prince will sleep in our beds upstairs."

"W-what?" Jun blinked at Yuzuru several times before he shook his head, "B-but, but where will you all sleep--?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. We'll be quite comfortable down here in, uh... in... uh..."

"In a pig's eye!" Patrick cut in, arms folded over his chest and a deep scowl on his face.

"In a pig's eye," Yuzuru repeated before he realised what he'd said and flushed red, trying to correct himself hastily, "A sty! No, no no!" He glared at Patrick, "I mean," he softened his tone again as he spoke to the prince, "we'll be fine. We'll be comfortable. Won't we?"

"Oh yes," the others promised the unconvinced prince, "we'll be very comfortable."

"Now," Yuzuru continued as Rika got distracted by the one pillow downstairs and slipped away from the group to go and grab it, "don't you worry about us. We'll be alright. Go right on up now, Your Highness."

"But... You..." Jun chewed on his lip and the dwarfs all pushed his legs to guide him towards the stairs, "but... Well... um... If you insist?"

"We insist!" the dwarfs chorused earning a giggle from Jun.

"Goodnight!" Jun called to them, and they all watched as he climbed the stairs. "You sure you'll be comfortable?"

Patrick smacked Yuzuru on the back of the head for his decision as Rika curled up with the one pillow.

"Oh yes!" The dwarfs gave him a smile, "very comfortable."

Jun smiled and closed the bedroom door behind him. The moment it was shut, the dwarfs all made a break for Rika, running at her and the pillow. She held it tight to her stomach to protect it from the grips of the other dwarfs as they descended on her. They all ended up tugging over it, pulling this way and that to see who would get the pillow. Rika let out a screech as she and Yuzuru tried to stop them but it was no use; they pulled on the pillow and fought so hard over it that it tore in two, covering the room in the feathers from the inside. Rika scooped up a pile of the feathers and arranged them under her head so that she could settle down with a pseudo pillow.

Upstairs, kneeling beside the beds and with his eyes closed, Jun offered up a prayer like he always did. Moonlight fell through the window onto him.

"Bless the seven little ladies and men who have been so kind to me, and please may my dreams come true. Amen."

He pushed himself to his feet and slipped off his shoes before he let out a small gasp and knelt back down again.

"Oh, yes! And please make Patrick like me!"

Downstairs, the dwarf in question was curled up in one of the cooking pots, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. He let out a groan as he tossed and turned, nearly upsetting the pot, and he scowled when he found the most comfortable position that he could. Others around him had already fallen asleep; the first to sleep had been Shoma. They'd all found places to sleep that weren't the most comfortable but they would do for them. Nathan was half using Rika as a pillow, lying perpendicular to her. Alina was curled up in the corner, sleeping by the table. The whole house, after Patrick had finished his complaining and decided to settle down and actually try to sleep, went quiet and peaceful, as did the rest of the forest that it was nestled in.

* * *

In the laboratory below the palace, plumes of smoke filled the air over the cauldron full of bubbling green liquid. In his disguise still, Johnny stirred it up before he picked up the apple tied to a string.

"Dip the apple into the brew." As he did so, the liquid seemed to swarm to it and bubbled up and over it, surrounding it with green grey bubbles, "Let the Sleeping Death seep through."

After a short while, he withdrew the apple. The dark green liquid around it clung to the apple, running off very slowly as he held it to eye level with a cold smirk. It eventually did drip off, leaving the remaining liquid on the apple in the shape of a skull. Johnny cackled to himself.

"Look! Under the skin. The symbol of what lies within. Now, turn red. Tempt Jun Hwan. To make him hunger for a bite."

The apple that was coated in the green liquid soon faded to a shiny red. Johnny held it between his withered fingertips and cackled, turning it around to admire every inch of the shiny surface of the skin. There was no hint of the evil that lurked underneath. There was nothing that hinted that it could be anything other than a perfect red apple. He tapped a finger to it and all his anger for Jun boiled up inside of him.

"When he breaks the tender peel to taste the apple in my hand, his breath will still, his blood congeal, and then I'll once again be fairest in the land." He dissolved into laughter again before a thought came over him and his smile dropped. "But wait! There... Is there an antidote?! Nothing must be overlooked!"

He all but threw himself across the room towards the book, running as fast as his now elderly legs would carry him, and he flipped through the pages to get to the Sleeping Death. As he read the entry, he let out a groan.

"No! Here it is! The victim of the Sleeping Death can be revived only by Love's First Kiss." He read it again silently to himself before his shoulder relaxed and he sneered down at the book. "Love's First Kiss." He slammed shut the book and laughed to himself. "No fear of that! Ha! The dwarfs will think he's dead! Ha, he'll be buried alive. And true love, bah! True love doesn't exist."

Still laughing to himself, he set the red apple in a basket of other apples. Descending through a trap door and making his way through the abandoned dungeons of the palace, Johnny's laughter didn't die down until he reached a canoe set in the water and pushed himself along the river that surrounded the castle, covered by the shadow of night. The river ran into the forest and, when he deemed it safe, he stopped and climbed out, hidden by the reeds, the thick fog, and the darkness, before he continued into the forest on foot, making his way towards the cottage.

* * *

The dawn broke over the forest and the golden light of day spilt into the clearing that held the cottage. Outside the animals were curled up on and around the doorstep. A pair of raccoons were curled up into each other, a baby deer was napping on the doorstep, several chipmunks and bunnies had huddled for more warmth, and the birds were sleeping on the branches of the trees nearby with their heads tucked under their wings. When the lock in the door clicked, the animals all scattered as Yuzuru stepped out with Jun following him.

"Now, don't forget dear Jun," the dwarf warned, "the old king's a sly one. He's full of witchcraft. So be careful Jun and beware of strangers."

"Don't worry," Jun promised him with a sunshine smile that put the other a little more at ease, "I'll be alright. Have a good day at work, and I'll see you tonight!"

He knelt down and gave Yuzuru a tight hug that the other eagerly accepted.

"Alright. Take care of yourself Jun! Come on! Work time!"

As the dwarfs left to follow Yuzuru out towards the mine, Jun gave each of them a hug before they went. Alina buried her face in his shoulder.

"Please be really really careful. Cause, um, if anything would happen to you.... I-I.... U-um..."

Jun gave her shoulders a light squeeze in the hug before he gave her his smile. "Thank you Alina. Goodbye, and take care today."

With a blushing red face, she all but ran after Yuzuru. Nathan was the next and, as he and Jun hugged, he spoke up.

"Be sure to watch out!" He tried his best to hold back his sneeze. Jun just chuckled and let go of him so that he could run off into the trees where it would do no harm other than scare a few birds.

Jun chuckled when he felt a light tug on the back of his shirt. Turning around, he easily swept Rika up into a hug and gave her a smile too before he let her go and join the others. Jun then gave a hug to Shoma who he had to shake lightly to make sure that he didn't fall asleep on his shoulder. Rika tried to sneak back in for an extra hug and Jun gave her one more before he chuckled.

"That's the last one, alright?"

Rika nodded and rushed off to join the others. Back in the cottage, Patrick was frantically smoothing down the front of his clothes in front of the mirror before he deemed himself presentable enough to go to the prince. Jun was waving to the other dwarfs when Patrick cleared his throat from behind him.

"Now I'm warning you! Don't let nobody or nothing in the house."

Jun couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Oh Patrick, you do care!"

He pulled the other into a tight hug that he was squirming about in, trying to get out of it. Patrick shoved him off and stomped away, but he couldn't help bit smile as he glanced back at the prince and joined the others as they all made their way to the mine.

Through the forest, stumbling a little on the rough terrain under foot, Johnny crossed the river near a waterfall before he carried on his journey towards the cottage.

"The little men and ladies will be away, and he'll be all alone with a harmless old peddler." He laughed to himself as he kept going, unaware that be was being followed by a pair of vultures.

* * *

In the kitchen of the cottage, Jun sung quietly to himself as he started rolling out the pastry to make a pie ready for the dwarfs when they got back. Squirrels and chipmunks lined the mantelpiece and the edge of the table while the birds, deer, and raccoons were settled on the window sill or poked their heads through the window, enchanted by his singing voice. They sat and watched as he rolled out the dough and half danced around the kitchen. The little birds helped by sprinkling more flour on the surface for him so that the dough didn't stick. When he had covered over the top, one of them pulled away the excess dough as Jun cut it off. He set it down and chuckled as two of the birds landed on the edge, jumping around to create a pretty pattern in the dough with their feet. The bird with the excess dough, with Jun's help, dropped it on top of the pie to write 'Patrick' in cursive; there were already pies for the others on a tray that Jun was ready to put in the oven.

A dark shadow fell over the window and, when Jun turned back around from the tray he let out a small gasp. There, leaning on the windowsill, was an old man with a black cloak on. He tilted his head at Jun and the young prince backed away a little.

"All alone my pet?" The old man spoke up with a croak in his throat and a cold smile.

"W-well, um," Jun rubbed at his fingers that were still a little covered in flour and nodded, "Yes, I am, but--"

The old man looked around, a frown coming over his wrinkled face. "The little men and ladies are not here?"

Jun shook his head, wiping his hands on his apron before he untied it. "No, they're not, but--"

He was cut off by a hum from the man. He smiled and took an over exaggerated sniff.

"Making pies?"

Jun nodded, smile picking up as his walls started to come down. "Yes! Gooseberry pies."

"It's apple pies that makes them folks mouths water." Jun was ensnared by the other's words and approached the window. "Pies made from apples like these."

He held out an apple to Jun, a flawless shiny red apple that Jun could almost see his reflection in. The animals outside exchanged looks of panic as Jun's naivety and trust came through.

"They do look delicious."

"Yes, but wait til you taste it! Like to try one? Go on," he all but shoved it into Jun's hands, "have a bite."

The birds in the trees panicked and swooped down, attacking the man by swarming around his head. Jun let out a gasp and ran out, waving his arms to try and shoo away the birds.

"Stop it! Stop it! Go away, away!" The birds fluttered off back to the tree as Jun dusted off the old man's cloak before he turned and chastised the birds. "Shame on you, frightening a poor old man!"

The old man picked himself up and polished up the red apple on a piece of his cloak before he tucked it in as the youngster held his shoulders to help him up.

"There there, they're very sorry."

"Oh!" The old man clutched his chest, "my heart! Oh, my poor heart." Jun supported him and helped him back towards the door of the cottage, "Please, take me into the house! Let me rest! A drink of water, please!"

Jun helped him in and set him down on a chair, dark eyes wide and full of concern. Outside the shut door, the animals looked at each other in panic before they scrambled to get up onto the window sill. From there, they watched helplessly as Jun got a cup of water for the old man who, instead of clutching at his heart, instead admired the shiny red apple. At his cold and threatening expression, the animals took off away from the window and down the mountain pass as fast as their legs and wings would carry them towards the mine to get the dwarfs. The animals tugged and pulled at their clothes, trying to pull the dwarfs back towards their cottage to help Jun.

* * *

"And," the old man passed Jun his now empty glass, "because you've been so good to poor old gramps, I'll share a secret with you." He stood up, advancing on the prince who backed away a little. He held out the red apple to Jun and gave the most gentle smile that he could. "This is no ordinary apple. This is a magic wishing apple."

Jun blinked at him in surprise. "A wishing apple?"

"Yes. One bite and all your dreams will come true."

"Really?" Jun asked as the face of the prince came into his mind once more.

"Yes my dear," the old man encouraged, "now, make a wish and take a bite."

* * *

The creatures kept tugging and pulling at the dwarfs as they struggled, bringing them closer and closer to their home.

"What are they doing?"

"What's wrong with them?"

"Why are they pulling on us?"

"Maybe," Shoma yawned out as he settled down to sleep in their mine cart, "the old king's got Jun."

Yuzuru's heart stopped. "The king! Jun Hwan!"

"The king will kill him!" Patrick gasped, "We've got to save him!"

The dwarfs all climbed onto the backs of the deer and, along with the other animals, they ran back towards the cottage as fast as the animals could carry them.

* * *

"There must be something your little heart desires. Perhaps there's someone you love?"

Jun blushed pale pink and shied his eyes away from the old man's. "W-well, there is someone..."

"I thought so! Old Gramps knows a young man's heart." He chuckled and offered Jun the apple again, "Now, take the apple dear, and make a wish."

Jun smiled to himself as he looked at the apple. It was a deep red and so shiny. One bite wouldn't hurt, right?

"I wish..." he mumbled to himself as his thoughts dwelt on the prince again. "I wish..."

"Go on," the old man urged.

"I wish that I will meet my prince, and that he will carry me away to his castle, where we will live happily ever after."

"Now take a bite. The wish won't come true if you don't! Don't let it grow cold."

The old man's eyes widened as Jun did as he said. He could hardly dare to breathe as he watched the youngster swallow and then turn pale.

"I-I," Jun took hold of the edge of the table with his free hand. His head was spinning and his limbs felt almost numb, "I-I... What is this?"

The old man just smirked, watching as the young prince collapsed in a crumpled mess on the floor. He cackled, taking in the pale and lifeless face of the prince who had plagued him for so long.

"Now I'll be fairest in the land," he cackled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny left the cottage with the unconscious teenager lying on the floor. He stepped out into the rain with his cloak pulled up over his head, still laughing to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we come to the end of this fic! Thank you so much to everyone who has read this far and supported it all the way through. I really really appreciate it! I had about 5 minutes left of the film to try and make into this chapter so I'm sorry it's not as long as the others. I hope you all enjoy it, and stay safe everyone xx

Johnny left the cottage with the unconscious teenager lying on the floor. He stepped out into the rain with his cloak pulled up over his head, still laughing to himself. Vincent had failed; his heart and resolve had been far too weak to take out such a troublesome pest, but he had succeeded. The thunder and lightning crashed around him and Johnny had to lean against the wall to support himself as he laughed.

A snap from the forest turned his head and he let out a gasp. First came the birds, then the bunnies, and then the chipmunks, darting between the trees and jumping over the roots to get to him. Johnny took off into a run in the other direction as he saw the shadows of the dwarfs on the backs of the deer come galloping towards him. They were shouting to each other, something about saving Jun which made a little bubble of smugness rise inside Johnny. Too late for that! He ran down the winding path, twisting this way and that as Patrick and Yuzuru slid to a stop near the cottage.

"That way! He went that way! Go and get him!"

The animals were the first after Johnny again and Patrick shoved Yuzuru, urging him to go on while he directed the others. The vultures from up in the trees exchanged a look and followed on, not far behind. Johnny jumped over the tree roots and slipped on some of the rocks as he climbed over a part of the stream. The wind and rain were battering him, and the thunder was echoing around the forest. He got tangled up in some branches before he started to climb a pile of rocks, hoping to slip out of sight of the dwarfs. Yuzuru caught sight of him and he and Patrick both clambered off their deer. They started to scramble up the rocks together as their deer paced anxiously, acting to direct the other dwarfs up after them. Panic had overtaken all of them and was deep set as they tried to gain purchase on the rain covered stones. They slipped and scrambled, pulling themselves up as they chased after the king. Johnny, from the top, saw them panicked as he reached a dead end. With nowhere else to run but off the cliff, he started shifting one of the big boulders from near to him at the top of the cliff, moving it closer and closer towards the slope he'd just climbed up.

"I'll just have to kill them too!"

Patrick let out a shriek and the dwarfs all froze when they saw Johnny's plan. The old king cackled, nudging the rock just a little further, urging it to roll and crush the dwarfs, when a bolt of lightning struck the edge of the cliff he was on. It crumbled, throwing Johnny down to the depths at the bottom with a scream. The rock he had intended to shove onto the dwarfs fell down after him and the dwarfs watched in disbelief as they heard the thud when it hit the bottom. The pair of vultures took off, descending below, and the dwarfs made their way down carefully so that they didn't slip and hurt themselves.

They made their way back to the cottage with the animals all but dragging them there and, in the doorway, they froze. Lying there, pale as a ghost with his hair about him in a crumpled heap, was the prince. Alina hid her face in Jason's shoulder while Shoma held Rika to comfort her. Yuzuru knelt next to the prince and checked to see if he was breathing.

He wasn't.

With bitter tears falling, he bit his lip hard and shook his head. The others helped him to carry the prince up to their beds where they lay him down, tucking him in. Like that, the could almost pretend that he was only sleeping. Patrick found the apple and threw it on the fire to stop anyone else from getting hurt by it, but the damage was done. Their prince lay there lifeless, pale, and cold.

"We have to bury him," Patrick tried to be pragmatic, "give him a proper funeral and all that. He deserves it, don't you think?"

"We can't bury him," Nathan whispered. "I mean, look. We can't. His looks can be compared with no other. It would be a crime to bury him, at least until he gets all gross."

"He can't stay here forever."

Jason, stroking Alina's hair to comfort her, piped up. "What if we build him a glass coffin? Lay him to rest there in the forest? Preserve him like that, like a beautiful jewel protected behind glass?"

The other dwarfs nodded in agreement but Yuzuru held up a hand. "Not tonight," he said, voice heavy with tears and emotion, "tonight, we mourn him."

The dwarfs lit candles by the prince and knelt by his bedside, shedding tears and sobbing. He'd been like a little light in their lives, making all of them smile, laugh, and feel so protective. Outside, looking in through the window as the rain fell on their fur, were several animals. The deer nuzzled each other for comfort. The two bunnies that Jun had named Liza and Evgenia lowered their ears in sadness. The chipmunks and squirrels held their tails as they peaked in too. The birds twittered sadly to each other, and, Jun's favourite, the raccoon curled up in a ball and nosed at the window, trying to get to him to give him one final cuddle. Huge numbers of animals stayed outside in the rain, letting it soak through their fur, as regret filled their tiny hearts. Yuzuru took hold of Jun's pale and cold hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb as he tried to find the words to apologise. All that he could choke out was a quick "I'm sorry" before he was overwhelmed with tears and emotions again.

As suggested by Nathan, the dwarfs then fashioned a coffin made of glass and gold to store the prince in. They lay him down like they were tucking a child into their bed before they made him a bouquet of flowers to hold in eternal sleep. Instead of all going to work, five would go to work each day and two would stay at his bed side to keep an eye on him. They changed who would stay by his side each day and, as winters turned to spring, Jun stayed just as lovely as ever, lying in his eternal sleep in the glass coffin.

The rumour of him spread far and wide, to each corner of the land, passed by the hunters who roamed the woods looking for animals. They always lowered their weapons and softened their gazes when they saw how the animals and dwarfs were so sombre and melancholy around the glass coffin that contained the sleeping prince. The rumours eventually made it to another kingdom and to the prince. His ears perked up and he gestured to the hunter that his father had dismissed.

"Tell me about him," he whispered, and the hunter eagerly obliged.

"His skin was as white the snow and looked soft to the touch. His lips, even now, as delicate as a gentle rose. His hair was black as ebony."

The prince's mouth fell open and he blinked at the hunter in shock. "You must take me to him. You must! I beg of you!"

At the crack of dawn the next morning, the prince climbed up onto the back of his horse beside the hunter and a guard. He had on his green tunic again, the same one that he'd worn when he first met Jun, in the hope that the man who slept in the glass coffin, if he awoke, would recognise him. They journeyed for days and weeks, crossing over the border into the next kingdom before they made it to the edge of the forest. The hunter went first, with the prince going next and his guard following last. The prince caught himself humming the song, the song that he'd sung to that beautiful servant boy that day at the palace, as they searched.

"Where is he?"

"He was here, I swear of it! He's here somewhere!"

Spring had sprung in the forest. Blossom from the trees fell around the glass coffin containing Jun and the animals had each picked a bouquet of flowers for him that they lay around his coffin. The bunnies and deer curled up together as the chipmunks stepped out of the way of all seven of the dwarfs who stepped up to offer their bouquets to the young prince. They laid them down next to those given by the animals and sat around as they always did in the mornings with their heads bowed. The spring light hit the coffin, sending little rainbows across the clearing. The animals sat around too with their heads bowed, and they didn't even have the energy to move when someone stepped through them towards their prince.

The dwarfs noticed him and moved to form a wall between this new prince with defined cheekbones and striking eyes the colour of honey picked his way into the clearing. The two other men with him held back, staying out of the way, as the young man gave a little smile to the dwarfs.

"I mean you and your young man no harm," he promised in response to the narrowed eyes of Patrick that were fixed on him, "I heard the rumours of the young man sleeping in a glass coffin and came to investigate. I had to. And he's the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

"Yeah, you've seen him," Patrick snapped, but his voice lacked the same bite that it had used to, "so go away and let us mourn! To you all he's just a spectacle but, to us, he was someone special. Do not be so insensitive and let us mourn him in peace."

"I do not mean to be insensitive," the prince promised, eyes fixed firmly on Jun, "I merely wanted to come and see him. Please, allow me to stay a while with him."

The dwarfs exchanged a look before Yuzuru nodded, too tired to bother fighting. Several of the dwarfs got together and pulled the casing of the coffin back so that it was just Jun lying there on the bed of gold and silks with the flowers resting in his hands. The prince looked down at him and couldn't help but reach out to stroke his cheek with the back of his thumb. His skin was as soft as silk; his hair was as dark as ebony; his lips were as delicate as the rose. The rumours were all true, but they didn't nearly do him justice. Jun's eyelashes were long, resting on his cheeks as his eyes were shut. He had a little Cupid's bow. He still held onto youthful features in his face. He knelt down beside him and placed his larger hand over Jun's colder cool one.

"I wish I'd got a chance to know you better," he whispered, voice containing a little regret, "I'm sorry. But you are him. You are the young man I met that day at the palace. No one could ever replicate your beauty and pretend to be you; that's how I know." He leaned over and, before the dwarfs could stop him, he placed a tender kiss on Jun's lips. "I'm sorry."

He, the dwarfs, and the animals sat back down and resumed their mourning. Alina hid her face once again in Jason's neck as fresh tears flowed. He held her close to him, allowing her to sob into his shoulder and arms. Rika this time curled up next to Yuzuru who stroked her hair to give her some comfort as silent tears fell down her face. Patrick wiped at his eyes, trying to remain stoic and emotionally removed from the situation so that he could act as a pillar of support for the others. Nathan was pale and his sneezing had even died down. Shoma found it harder to sleep. Jason's upbeat and happy demeanour was overshadowed by the weight of the loss. Yuzuru was at a loss entirely. They all lowered their heads as a sign of respect, even the animals.

The colour returned to Jun's cheeks, spreading a pale pink blush across his nose. The warmth and life started to return to his limbs and his fingertips moved again. His breathing started again and it became deeper. His eyes fluttered open and he started coughing and spluttering, earning the attention of everyone.

The animals, despite being furthest away from him, were also the fastest. They bounced past the humans and nuzzled up to Jun with the deer giving him gentle licks to the cheek, the birds twittering about around his head, the chipmunks and squirrels dancing around him, and the bunnies and raccoons settling on his lap. He dropped the bouquet and, once his coughing had died down, he found himself smiling as he ran his fingers through Liza and Evgenia's fur. The dwarfs were next. Alina and Rika all but leapt into his arms for hugs and, giggling, Jun held them both tightly. The others then joined in, swarming him with cuddles before he had a chance to hug each of them individually. His eyes then fell on the prince.

Jun let out a gasp and his cheeks flushed dark pink when he recognised him. The other offered him a smile and his hand.

"I-it's you," Jun whispered, eyes wide as he held the prince's hand. "It.... You're here! You're real! I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"If you're dreaming, then I'm dreaming too." the prince squeezed his hand gently. "I don't believe we've properly been introduced. I'm Conrad."

"Jun Hwan," he smiled and ducked his head to try and hide his blush, "but just Jun is fine."

"Jun," Conrad smiled as the name tasted almost like honey to him, "Jun, I... Would you... Would you ever want to come and stay with me? Live with me in the kingdom across the border? Stay with my family?"

Jun's face lit up and he nodded, smiling with the light of a thousand suns brightening his face. "The dwarfs can come too, right? I can't do without them. They've been so good and kind to me."

"Of course they can come too," Conrad scooped Jun up into his arms, carrying him like a princess as he helped him onto the horse. He turned to the hunter and his guard and nodded to the dwarfs. "Bring them home with us. Please."

The hunter and guard nodded and the deer allowed the dwarfs to climb onto their backs again. Following behind Jun and Conrad on their horse together were the guard and hunter, the seven dwarfs, and a small army of woodland creatures that had fallen in love with Jun. They rode together, with Conrad leading the horse and Jun sitting on it, over the hills and towards the castle in the distance that was lit by the bright light of day. When they arrived in the evening, Conrad helped Jun down off the horse and, once they'd got the dwarfs settled into rooms and the animals had made themselves comfortable, Conrad led him up to his suite.

"These will be yours," he gestured inside and Jun gasped at the size of them, "there are some clothes in there for you and we'll get you measured tomorrow morning. If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know."

"Where is your room?" Jun asked, voice timid and unsure. Conrad looped his arm around the other's waist to give him physical closeness to comfort him.

"Across the hall," he gestured, "so I'm close if you need me."

That evening, Conrad's parents and sister were both surprised and amused when they were joined by the shy Jun Hwan and seven dwarfs. Conrad explained the situation to them and they welcomed the new guests with open arms. Amelia wouldn't stop staring at Jun and she dragged Conrad out halfway through dinner.

"Conrad! Isn't he the heir? To the next kingdom?!"

"I don't know," Conrad shrugged, "to be honest. I just... he's got my heart Amelia."

"Sappy. Is that why you brought him here?"

Conrd blushed bright pink and rubbed the back of his neck before he muttered something about little sisters.

For months, Jun and Conrad got to know each other better and fell properly in love. After Jun turned eighteen, Conrad proposed to him and, to no one's surprise and everyone's relief, Jun said yes. They were married in the spring and Yuzuru filled in for Jun's father. Several of Jun's animal friends had come to the wedding and Conrad found it endearing that they were so adorable when they tried to throw petals for them. The kingdoms both rejoiced at the wedding and Jun was given his rightful place as ruler of his own kingdom again. In Conrad's arms, he had never felt quite as safe. After their wedding, when they took over together, they ruled with fair hands.

And they all live happily ever after.


End file.
